A routine commute turned fatal for 33-year-old Alok Kumar Singh on Saturday evening, ending a day that was meant to conclude with a quiet birthday dinner with his wife.
Singh, a Mumbai college professor, was allegedly stabbed to death by a fellow commuter following a brief argument over alighting from a local train at Malad station.
The incident has triggered widespread outrage over commuter safety on the city’s lifeline. According to the police, Singh had left NM College in Vile Parle shortly after working hours.
He told colleagues he was heading out for dinner, as it was his wife’s birthday. While travelling towards Kandivali, an altercation broke out around 5:40 pm as passengers were getting down from the train at Malad.
What began as a minor argument between Singh and 27-year-old Omkar Shinde quickly escalated.
Shinde, a metal polishing labourer, allegedly stabbed Singh on platform number 1 before fleeing the scene, leaving the professor bleeding on the platform. Singh was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Within 12 hours of the crime, the Government Railway Police arrested Shinde from the Kurar area in Mumbai’s western suburbs.
He has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and was remanded to police custody for five days.
The Borivali GRP said the accused took advantage of the crowd at the station to escape, but was identified and tracked using CCTV footage. The murder weapon is yet to be recovered. The killing has also drawn attention to Singh’s family background.
His father, Anil Kumar Singh, is part of the security detail of defence minister Rajnath Singh. He was in Delhi for Republic Day parade preparations when he was informed about his son’s death.
Originally from Uttar Pradesh, Anil Kumar Singh has worked in several parts of the country as part of the Defence Minister’s security cover, police said.